Because Nothing Looks Like God - Hardcover

Kushner, Lawrence; Kushner, Karen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 158023092X ISBN 13: 9781580230926

Publisher: Jewish Lights, 2000

Synopsis

"Where is God?"
“What does God look like?”
“How does God make things happen?”

With little hands, and big hands. With young hands and old hands, With your hands.” Mixing sparks of curiosity and spiritual imagination, this wondrous book lights children's creativity and shows how God is with us every day, in every way. It is a vibrant invitation to children and their adults to explore―together―what, where, and how God is in our lives. Multicultural,

Nondenominational, Nonsectarian; Endorsed by Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish Religious Leaders

About this title

About the Author:

Lawrence Kushner, author, lecturer and spiritual leader, is regarded as one of the most creative religious thinkers and writers in America. A commentator on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, he has focused us on spiritual renewal with wisdom and humor. Through his books and lectures, people of every faith and background have found inspiration and new strength for spiritual search and growth. It has been said that some spiritual leaders blend religion and psychology to help us walk better on the ground, but Lawrence Kushner draws on the wisdom of the mystics to help us dance better on the ceiling.

Kushner's acclaimed books include I’m God; You’re Not: Observations on Organized Religion & Other Disguises of the Ego; Honey from the Rock: An Easy Introduction to Jewish Mysticism; Invisible Lines of Connection: Sacred Stories of the Ordinary; The Book of Letters: A Mystical Hebrew Alphabet; Jewish Spirituality: A Brief Introduction for Christians; and In God’s Hands, an inspiring fable for children, with Gary Schmidt (all Jewish Lights).

Kushner served as rabbi at Congregation Beth El in Sudbury, Massachusetts, for almost thirty years; he is currently the Emanu-El scholar at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco, and an adjunct faculty member at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion. He is fascinated by graphic design and computers (designing most of his Jewish Lights books). He enjoys Mozart, hanging around sailboats, and making his granddaughters giggle.

Karen Kushner, a clinical social worker, specializes in the healing power of family dynamics.

Dawn Majewski holds a B.F.A. in Illustration from Moore College of Art. She has been staff artist for several corporations; her illustrations and paintings appear in corporate and private collections. She lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

From School Library Journal:

PreS-Gr 2-This gentle book is designed to be "the beginning of a continuing conversation between adults and children about the world and God." Nonsectarian and multicultural, the text suggests a divine presence rather than anthropomorphizing, by utilizing simple questions such as "What does God look like?" and "How does God make things happen?" to guide youngsters' understanding of this very abstract concept. The result is more a feeling than an answer, with God primarily represented by several easily understood metaphors such as the wonder of nature ("God is in-caterpillars chewing leaves from daisies,/And in worms turning leaves into earth"), and the loving cooperation of a family ("See sisters taking turns on the slide,/And brothers sharing a new game"). Clearly there is no way to explain certain aspects of God, thus parts of the text seem beyond the grasp of younger readers ("God is wherever we let God in"). However, because the Kushners' intent is to explore rather than describe God, there is room for children's own spiritual awareness to grow. Watercolor illustrations are simple, bright, and nicely textured, portraying people of all ages in friendly and caring situations. Similar in tone to Virginia L. Kroll's I Wanted to Know all about God (Eerdmans, 1994), this book provides children of many faiths with a bridge between the tangible and spiritual world.-Teri Markson, Stephen S. Wise Temple Elementary School, Los Angeles

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Jewish Lights
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 158023092X
• ISBN 13: 9781580230926
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Majewski Dawn